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Despite what some think, I do not work for Johnsonville® Sausage Company. I am a raving fan, but not a ‘member’ (that’s what they call those who work for them) of that food family. I’ve been fortunate to have found a lot of success with their products in cooking and recipe contests but, outside of some prize money, swag given to contest participants, and occasional coupons available to probably anyone, have not been compensated by them.

This week’s recipe is the latest to shine light in my direction. Yes, it involves Johnsonville® but they just happened to be the company producing the contest. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to THE SAUSAGE DOME!
*ding, Ding, DING!*

This head-to-head three way battle of cooking prowess includes a successful Windy City food shoppe owner, whose sweet demeanor slighly wraps her competitors in the warmth of grandma’s apron, NONA GINA ; a Celebrity Chef whose credits include appearances around the world, including on The FoodNetwork® and hosting his own show on The Cooking Channel®, JEFFREY SAAD, and a little known small town cooking champ coming back from a 4-year cooking competition hiatus, JIM “RHINO” REINCKE!

The Sausage Six (Sausage Dome Judges) and me, after the win.

Few details were released with the contest announcement. Pretty much all I knew was to create a recipe that used one of Johnsonville’s products, that it may have something to do with “The Big Game” (they couldn’t use the word SUPERBOWL® because of trademark), and that the winners would compete in a head-to-head type of reality show.

Okay, let’s do this!

Checking to see what we had on hand, I felt like instead of entering the Sausage Dome, I was on an episode of CHOPPED, but that’s where I like it…getting creative. Loooong story short, here’s what ended up winning the title of CHAMPION on the first episode of THE SAUSAGE DOME…

Pre-heat Grill to ROCKET HOT (as hot as it will go), then back down the heat to around 400*F, Medium Heat, when placing BRATwists on the grill; 2 Zones; one side hot, the other ‘cool.’ Charcoal grill will give great flavor, but I used a gas grill with great results.

Skewer Brats and, using a very sharp knife, ‘accordion cut’ while rolling along a cutting board; stretch, and evenly space, the cut JVL Brats the entire length of the skewers.